New Honda Amaze 2018: More Details Emerge

The new-gen Amaze will become the only compact sedan to pack steering-mounted paddle shifters and the most economical car to offer the same as well

Honda has revealed additional details about the second-generation Amaze, which is all set to launch in May 2018. The pre-launch bookings for the new sub-4m sedan are already underway. Following the usual model change cycle, the second generation Amaze will be launched five years post the introduction of the previous model in 2013. Here are two prominent features that Honda has now revealed, apart from what we already know from the Auto Expo 2018 where the sedan made its global debut.

New Infotainment System

The 2018 Amaze will be debuting the second iteration of Honda Car India’s inhouse-developed Digipad infotainment system. The Digipad 2.0 finally gets the much needed support for Google Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

The screen size remains identical at 7 inch and it will continue to be a smartphone-like capacitive touch-based unit. It should also get built-in Mapmyindia navigation with live traffic support along with Wi-Fi connectivity and HDMI input.

We really hope Honda has addressed the issues that plague the current Digipad unit, in which the touch is not intuitive and doesn't respond to commands from steering wheel-placed buttons quickly as well.

We don’t really see a point why the automaker is not offering the Honda Connect unit, which is offered in all of its global-spec offerings from the Jazz to the NSX supercar, in place of the Digipad. It is also the same system that the upcoming India-spec Honda Civic and CR-V will get, while the Accord Hybrid already offers it. Like the Digipad, the Honda Connect system too is based on Android, but features a relatively faster Nvidia processor and a vivid screen. Rivals from automakers such as Ford and Hyundai share infotainment systems with their international counterparts.

Honda usually adds zing to its cars by offering steering-mounted paddle shifters with CVT or a sunroof (both in some cases). The Amaze gets the former to make its case stronger against the new Dzire, which is rocking the sales charts since its debut (~ 20k monthly sales). While the CVT was already available with previous-gen Amaze petrol, the new one will offer it with the diesel as well. The petrol, on the other hand, will pack steering-mounted paddle shifters, which the Jazz, City and the CR-V also offer as well. This makes the new Amaze the only car in the compact sedan segment to offer paddle shifters. It is also set to become the cheapest offering in the country to offer the same. It likely to be a 7-step CVT that you also see in the City and Jazz, in which you can hold on longer to a particular ratio for spirited driving. The diesel, on the other hand, will miss out on paddle shifters.

Speaking of the segment, the new Amaze will become the second car in the compact sedan space to offer an automatic option with both petrol and diesel engines, after the Dzire. The Maruti Suzuki Dzire, however, offers an AMT (automated-manual transmission) unit, a technology which is more affordable than CVT and often less refined.